This Thursday through Saturday, one of the most competitive basketball tournaments played in north Louisiana year in and year out takes place when the annual Bienville Parish Tournament tips off at Arcadia High School.
Played among schools domiciled only in Bienville Parish, the competition is always fierce, with annually one or more teams on both girls’ and boys’ sides being among the best in the state in their classifications.
This year is no exception, as the tourney features in the boys bracket a pair of LHSAA #1 ranked teams in Castor in Class B and Gibsland-Coleman in Class C, along with host Arcadia, which is ranked #3 in Division IV among “non-select” schools. The list doesn’t end there as Saline is ranked #9 in Class C and Ringgold is #23 in Division IV in the early rankings, with every school having at least a .500 winning percentage.
The girls’ side doesn’t have as many highly ranked teams, but two are in the top ten, and all are in the top 25 of their classifications, led by Saline in Class C at #6 and Arcadia at #9 in Division IV. Gibsland-Coleman is next at #17 in Class C while Castor checks in a #20 in Class B and Ringgold is at #23 in Division IV.
Admission is $8.00 per person, and if you leave, you must pay again as NO OUT PASSES are given. An exception is for players, who are admitted free even if their team is eliminated, and are identified by their coach or school principal.
The “dynamic duo” of Gavin Dailey and Eli Ferguson score 27 and 26 points respectively, including all but 8 of Saline’s second-half points to help the Bobcats rally past homestanding St. Mary’s of Natchitoches 72-55. With the victory Saline improves to a deceiving 5-5 overall record with all losses being to schools from a higher classification. St. Mary’s fell to 0-2 on the season.
Saline spotted St. Mary’s a 21-13 lead after one period of play but an 18-8 second quarter advantage gave the Bobcats a 31-29 advantage that Saline stretched to the convincing final margin by winning the third and fourth quarters by a combined 41-26 advantage.